Big Changes for Indiana Public Radio: More News, Culture, Conversations—and a New Station

Topics: Arts and Culture, Ball State PBS, College of Communication Information and Media, Faculty

November 1, 2024

For almost 75 years, Indiana Public Radio (IPR) has been providing award-winning, compelling news and music programming to East Central Indiana. The station has built itself on a foundation of feedback from its community to ensure meaningful programming.

On Oct. 28, IPR officially expanded its news and music coverage, debuting its new station-89.5 The Note-and answering the call from its listeners for more of what they know and love.

"This change is founded on our 2022 Audience Engagement Survey, in which listeners told us that they wanted more news, while also wanting more music," said Dr. Phil Hoffman, general manager of Ball State Public Media. "Once we identified what our community wanted, we set to work to make that happen."

The expansion sees the debut of a revamped IPR schedule, featuring new shows, extended hours of news coverage, in-depth interviews, cultural deep-dives and diverse music programming.

The new IPR schedule can be heard on 92.1 FM Muncie, 90.9 FM Marion, and 91.1 FM Hagerstown/New Castle.

On Oct. 28, IPR also introduced 89.5 The Note on 89.5 FM WBSB in Anderson. This new station will feature a 24/7 classical music lineup, including live and hosted programs from American Public Media's Classical 24 (C24) service. Popular classical programs currently on IPR, such as "Sunday Afternoon Classics," "Chicago Symphony Orchestra," and "Fiesta!" will now be broadcast on The Note, providing a dedicated home for classical music fans.

"Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor, we are able to make these changes," Hoffman said. "Our team will be working in November to create the new, bigger coverage area WBSB, and we can finally address our listeners' requests."

Both IPR and The Note can be streamed at indianapublicradio.org and the Ball State Public Media app.

IPR SCHEDULE CHANGES

WEEKDAYS

• "BBC World Service" brings live programming from the BBC World Service daily between midnight and 5 a.m. and weekends until 6 a.m.
• "BBC Newshour" is the one-hour daily flagship news program providing definitive, on-the-ground reporting and analysis of the biggest international stories of the day. It airs on weekdays at 10 a.m.
• "Think," a person-to-person interview show hosted by Krys Boyd and originating from KERA in Dallas, will immediately follow "Morning Edition" on weekday mornings at 11 a.m.
• "Q with Tom Power:" Five days a week, interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors, and musicians who define pop culture. Q airs weeknights at 7 p.m.
• "World Café" showcases in-studio performances and interviews with new and significant music artists. Hosted by Raina Douris, it expands to two hours, and moves to a new timeslot, from 8-10 p.m. weeknights.
• "XPoNential Radio," a service of WXPN in Philadelphia, features a unique blend of blues, rock, folk, and alternative country, showcasing both emerging and iconic artists. It airs daily from 10 p.m. to midnight.
• "A Way with Words," the lively and entertaining show that explores language through the lens of culture, history, and family, joins the lineup at 1 p.m., just before "Science Friday"-making for some "smart nerdy" fun on Fridays (with an encore on Sunday at 1 p.m.).

SATURDAY

• "Embodied:" In this award-winning show, host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and bodies that touches down in taboo territory on Saturday at 6 a.m.
• "LiveWire" is like late-night for radio. Hosted by Luke Burbank, the show artfully blends an eclectic mix of artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and comedians, live and packed with surprises. It airs Saturday at 11 a.m., following "Wait, Wait…Don't Tell Me!"
• "The Facing Project," the show that seeks to strengthen communities by connecting people through stories, moves to 3 p.m. on Saturday and gains a Sunday evening encore at 7 p.m.

SUNDAY

• "No Small Endeavor" with host Lee C. Camp examines questions like, "What does it mean to live a good life? What is true happiness? What are the habits and practices that lead to human flourishing?" It airs Sunday at 6 a.m.
• "Left Right & Center" is hosted by award-winning journalist and former "Morning Edition" co-host David Greene and delivers lively, reliable, and insightful discussions on politics and current events. It airs Sunday at 10 a.m.
• "Freakonomics Radio" is a show all about the business of business. It can be heard on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m.
• BBC's "The Arts Hour" brings you the best in global arts in a weekly showcase of rich arts, culture and entertainment stories from across the BBC and broadcasters and can be heard Sunday at noon.
• "Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Radio" is an award-winning public radio show with which PBS viewers may already be familiar. It travels the world to reveal how food and cooking changes lives and cultures. It joins the IPR schedule Sunday at 2 p.m.
• "The Splendid Table" hosted by Francis Lam moves to a new timeslot, Sunday at 3 p.m.
• "TED Radio Hour" moves to Sunday at 4 p.m.
• "PRX Remix" is a compilation of the best stories, conversations, and audio essays from the Public Radio Exchange. "Remix" sounds like the best public radio on shuffle, hosted by Roman Mars, the founder of Radiotopia. It can be heard on Sundays at 6 p.m.
• "Conversations from the World Cafe," a weekly "best of" collection of recent World Cafe interviews and performances from musicians featured on the Café, airs Sunday at 7 p.m.

89.5 The Note Program Highlights

C24 hosts include Scott Blankenship, Jeff Esworthy, Valerie Kahler, Jillene Khan, Bonnie North, Kevin O'Connor, Melissa Ousley, Mindy Ratner, Melanie Renate, Steve Seel, and Lynne Warfel.

C24 HOSTED SHOWS:

• "Extra Eclectic:" Where classical music is always arriving, with host Steve Seel. Airs live at 10 p.m. every Wednesday.
• "Saturday Cinema" explores the best in film music, with host Lynne Warfel. Listen live at 10 a.m. every Saturday.
• "Exploring Music" with Bill McGlauglin, which has been on hiatus for IPR listeners, makes a return to weeknights at 7 p.m.
• "Performance Today," the Peabody-award-winning classical music program hosted by Fred Child, airs from 8-10 p.m.